金钱相关的词汇可以分成三部分:谈论价格、实际付款,以及与银行打交道。出国以后,这三种情况很快都会遇到。
谈论价格
- How much does it cost? / How much is it?
- It costs £40.
- That's good value.(物有所值)
- It's a bargain.(比预想的便宜很多)
- It's a rip-off.(敲竹杠——非正式,语气相当强烈)
- I can't afford it.
- We're on a tight budget.
Cheap 与 inexpensive 的区别: cheap 常常暗示质量低,而 inexpensive 和 affordable 没有这层意思。
有两个句型值得牢记:I can't afford to go.(afford + to + 动词)以及 It's worth the money. / It isn't worth it.
付款
- Can I pay by card? / in cash / by bank transfer
- Do you take contactless?
- Could I have a receipt, please?
- Is service included?
- Let's split the bill.(平摊账单)
- I'll get this. / It's on me.(我请客)
容易混淆的动词
- spend money on something:I spent £50 on books.
- pay for something:I paid for the meal.
- cost——主语是物品本身:The meal cost £50.
- lend(借出去)/ borrow(借进来):Can you lend me £10? / Can I borrow £10?
- save(存钱)/ save up for(为某事攒钱)
- owe——欠钱:I owe you £20.
- charge——收取价格:They charged me £5 extra.
❌ I paid the meal. → ✅ I paid for the meal. ❌ I spent £50 for books. → ✅ I spent £50 on books.
收入与支出
收入: salary(按月发放,通常指白领工作)· wages(按小时或按周发放)· earn · get paid · bonus · pension · tax · gross(税前)/ net(税后)
支出: rent · bills · mortgage · deposit(押金,可退还)· insurance · subscription · direct debit(每月自动扣款)
- I get paid on the 25th.
- Most of my salary goes on rent.
- The bills come to about £200 a month.
注意 deposit 这个词要小心:它既可以指提前支付的押金,也可以指存入账户的钱。要靠语境区分。
在银行
account · current account · savings account · balance · statement · withdraw · deposit · transfer · overdraft · interest · loan · mortgage · exchange rate · commission
- I'd like to open an account.
- What's the exchange rate today?
- Do you charge commission?
- My card's been declined.
- I need to withdraw some cash.
口语说法
英式口语里这些说法很常见,你会先听到别人说,然后才轮到自己开口:
a quid —— 一英镑 · a fiver / a tenner —— 5 英镑 / 10 英镑 · I'm broke / skint —— 没钱了 · it cost a fortune —— 花了一大笔钱 · it's a bit steep —— 有点贵
注意:quid 没有复数形式:twenty quid,而不是「quids」。
遇到问题
- I've been charged twice.
- There's a payment on my statement I don't recognise.
- I'd like to report a lost card.
- The payment didn't go through.
- I'd like to dispute this charge.
谁欠谁的钱,全靠这些动词来说清楚。 首先要弄清楚 lend 和 borrow 这一对:Can you lend me £10? 和 Can I borrow £10? 意思相同,而 Can you borrow me £10? 则完全说不通。至于 I owe you 和 you owe me 的区别,最好在开口之前就想清楚,而不是说到一半才反应过来。
平摊账单
A: Shall we split it?
B: I'll get this — you paid for the taxi.
A: Are you sure? It's not cheap.
B: It's fine. Just lend me a tenner for the tip, I've got no cash on me.
A: Here. You owe me, though.
Split、get this、pay for、lend、口语化的金额说法,以及 owe——短短一段对话里就出现了六个容易混淆的用词。
自我检测
下面的测验重点考察这些容易混淆的动词。